The McLuhan Seminar in Creativity & Technology: A New Course at the University of Toronto

31Jan18

St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto introduces the McLuhan Seminar in Creativity and Technology

Offered for the first time in 2018-2019, The McLuhan Seminar is an exploration of the relationship between creativity and technology.Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980), one of the most charismatic and wide-ranging thinkers of the 20th century, taught at St. Michael’s College from 1946 until his death in 1980. The Seminar is inspired by McLuhan’s innovative thinking. First-year students in the Faculty of Arts & Sciencc at the University of Toronto will explore how the humanities relate to other fields of thought in addressing the individual, social, and cultural experiences and effects of technological innovation.

University of Toronto / St. Michael’s College Professor Paolo Granata, an expert on McLuhan’s work, will teach the course, which also includes a one-week international learning experience in Silicon Valley. While visiting some of the legendary global symbols of world-changing innovation and the creative giants of the world’s tech economy, this course will take an experimental approach to the following research question: “How can we make innovation and creativity play a role in the development of humanities research for a critical interpretation of the role of technology in today’s world and in the future?”

The McLuhan Seminar introduces to university-level studies on a small scale, with first-year students who share interest in creativity, technology, and international experience. Students from different disciplines will experiment with interdisciplinary and critical thinking, access path-breaking new research, and engage with some of the most popular, profitable, and recognized sources and sites of human connectivity today.

Ultimately, the McLuhan Seminar in Creativity and Technology will provide students with a toolbox for creative learning and future research connections.

Professor Paolo Granata

Scholarships will be awarded to successful applicants.

What is the course?

SMC155H1, the McLuhan Seminar in Creativity and Technology, is a half-course worth 0.5 credits. It will be offered in Winter 2019. The course consists of lectures, seminar discussions, guest speakers, and a one-week international learning experience in Silicon Valley. Students will explore how creativity makes innovation possible and influences our individual and social responses to technological change.

Possible Course Reading List

Some of the material you’ll be reading could include selections from:

Marshall McLuhan’s Laws of Media: The New Science and Take Today: The Executive as Dropout

Adam Grant’s Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, a book about recognizing good ideas, facing doubt, and choosing how and when to act

Walter Isaacson’s bestselling biography Steve Jobs

Ashlee Vance’s Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, a biography that explores the role of inventors and entrepreneurs in the global market

Timothy Ferriss’ Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers

Silicon Valley (HBO TV series)

Planned Silicon Valley Visit

The course includes a one-week international learning experience in Silicon Valley over Reading Week 2019, February 18 to 22. Students will visit some of the legendary global symbols of world-changing innovation and the creative giants of the world’s tech economy.

Good news. All students admitted to the McLuhan Seminar in Creativity and Technology receive room and board at no cost. Students are responsible for their own airfare and incidentals.

In advance of the trip, enrolled students will receive more detailed information and also safety training and other preparation. Additional information at https://goo.gl/hmVCeY.

Indeed, the McLuhan Seminar is NOT a Course in Book & Media Studies. It it a course for all students in the Faculty of Arts and Science at UofT. So, I’d rather say: “The McLuhan Seminar in Creativity & Technology: A New Course at the University of Toronto”

I would take out the paragraphs: “What will I be reading?” and “What will I be reading?”. Since they are conceived for the students enrolled, it might be a little bit confusing for the general public.